Higher Ground
by pedal
Summary: A true story of love, and luckily for Tracey [Kenji] and Misty [Kasumi], there is a happilyeverafter. ONESHOT


Written: September 2005

Disclaimer: Only the story is mine and not Tajiri Satoshi-Sensei's.

Author's note: I dug this up from my honors English class in my senior year of high school and thought 'Hey, people might like this!'

Dedication: To the teacher who let me write this ridiculous story.

I didn't think I even really knew him then. So why did I feel anything? Did my subconscious know what was going to happen?

Higher Ground

By Pedal

The way he smiled so sincerely made it seem it'd be the only time we'd be close. The only time we'd have one of those cheesy Hollywood-esque moments that would eventually lead up to our happilyeverafter. Except the last part would never come in my mind.

Though I carried my shoes, my socks still tracked soaked-in snow from outside all the way to the common room. The brightness inside the pokémon center compared to the stiff dark outside from the thick clouds gave me a slight headache, but I'd be fine once I found a dry spot to sit with my best friends. This was assuming finding a dry spot on the floor would be possible; a chansey was vacuuming the couches.

Two steps before I veered from the hallway, I pulled a little black notebook with thick, unlined paper from my red bag; I couldn't sit down quite yet. And to think I was rewarding the idiot who wore shorts in the winter with a New Years present. At least he had on a long-sleeved shirt. "Tracey!" I sang, dropping my bag half on Ash's right leg. Ignoring his thwap of mine, I held out the small book with both hands, shrugging my shoulders forward. "Happy New Years!" Tracey turned from a small group of other pokémon trainers we had met up with earlier.

"Wow, Misty! Thanks so much!" He quickly accepted the sketchbook and, after flapping it around for a second, stepped forward and hugged me. An iron pressed to my ears right away, and I needed a moment to squeak before I registered this and hugged him back.

_I don't like him. Why is he hugging me? Why do I like it so much? I do not like Tracey. I like Ash._

So ended the hug that barely helped me realize I had a crush on him. Said crush came to light months later. But, needless to say, it helped me realize it in the first place. I'd be writing about Ash leaving me in Cerulean for cute little May had Tracey not hugged me then.

The phone shook in my hand and I could feel his shaking breath on my ear. "Could I guess?"

"Sure."

"Is it Gary's sister?"

"N-no."

"Daisy?"

"No."

"Tracey." I sucked in the same breath that would never be enough. "Do you like _me_?" The nervous breathing quieted, my ear cooling. "Tracey? Oh god, sorry. I should go. I need to—"

"Yeah."

Rather than what, rather than holy anything, I exhaled as steadily as my body would allow. "I like you too. A lot."

After another hour of nervous laughs and small confessions, he said goodbye. I told him that no matter what, I'd get to him tomorrow. To see him. I played video games and ate cookie dough that night; sleeping had recently become impossible.

After countless annoyances and pleas to my sisters, she agreed to drive me to Pallet and drop me off at Professor Oak's laboratory.

Top down and oldies blasting, Daisy was very smart not to speed on the way to the lab, despite the strong temptation. About eight hundred cops dotted our route.

By the time I had hopped up to the front door, my heart was in my throat again. The entire morning I had been yelling at it to make sure it wouldn't venture there and make my face heat. A flood warning must've been issued in its area. I hadn't even had any tea that day.

I turned to wave goodbye to Daisy, who was already zooming away. The door swung open almost impatiently soon after my patience had begun running low. I stepped in and let Tracey shut it behind me.

Once he returned to his spot four feet in front of me, I balled my slippery fists and glared down at my chest, hoping my heart would take the hint and lay off the theatrics. As I looked back up, I consoled his worried face with a grin. "Hello," he said brightly. His voice wavered, still scared and uncertain.

My foot stomped down as I darted forward and yanked him down to me by the neck, embracing him. His arms found my waist somewhere along the line, but beans if I knew when. A high "Hmph!" came from my throat as I stood on my toes to squeeze him. Somehow I found myself being very stubborn about something. Stubbornness melted away as it came to me; "This is how boyfriends should say hello."

For a rare time, he didn't say anything. A low chuckle came from his throat while I buried my face in his shoulder. I could feel his smile against my neck, and my feet would've slid as my knees buckled had they not been bare and black on the soles. Until then I didn't know knees actually buckled.

The silence was trampled away by two little pokémon rushing in and sliding on the hardwood to greet their newest visitor. My body seemed to be set down on the earth as I watched Tracey chase his Marill and Venonat around with an enthusiastic baby talk falsetto. Part of me was suddenly glad I had had an extra sketchbook lying around.

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Like orangeshipping? Comment and I can direct you to an orangeshipping fanclub I run! Like it even more, draw and write it! The world needs more of this rare and wonderful pairing. Tell me when you do!


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